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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  2. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  3. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  4. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  5. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  6. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  7. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  12. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  15. How do you ________________ your surname?
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  20. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. spell — a short time
  2. bowl — to roll
  3. bowl — a football final
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. bowl — a dish
  6. ruler — for measuring
  7. ruler — a monarch
  8. bat — the animal
  9. chest — of your body
  10. chest — a box
  11. pass — to spend time
  12. ruler — for measuring
  13. field — farmland
  14. pass — a permit
  15. spell — letters
  16. chest — of your body
  17. pass — to succeed
  18. field — a subject
  19. lie — to recline
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. spell — magic
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. field — for sport

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com